Last winter, i went to Stockholm to visit a friend. It was a very cold week-end and the city was covered by a thick layer of snow. We took a long walk in a park, drank tea and coffee in a cosy bakery, cooked in her little apartment, catched up with life, sharing thoughts and dreams. Right before i left to catch the train back home, she went to her wardrobe and came back with a large suitcase. We sat on the wooden floor and as she opened it a wonderful smell spread into the room. In the suitcase were many small paper bags filled with flowers she had been growing, picking and drying during the summer. There was something magical in the fact that we could enjoy the colors, smells and flavors of those precious plants in the middle of the dark swedish winter. Like if time had been suspended for a while. She religiously opened the bags one by one, placing samples of each species in an empty jar that she handed out to me. Sage, rose, calendula, lavender, raspberry bush leaves, chamomile, marigold, cornflower... Brewing a cup of tea from this jar has become a ritual. Apart from the subtle and delightful flavour of this flower blend, they each have diverse medicinal properties. In this recipe i combined the tea with plant milk, coconut oil and honey to create a frothy and soothing evening summer drink.

This is a guest post i made for Spencre L.R McGowan. She is an herbalist and creator of the website Gingertooth & Twine.